Bluefish TV’s tag line is simple, but it sums things up nicely: “Creating videos to help you teach.” That’s what Bluefish TV does, and they’ve got the numbers to back it up. At www.bluefishtv.com you’ll find dozens of small group studies that include quality video elements and more than 700 downloadable video illustrations. That’s a lot. Of course, Bluefish has been at this since 1987, when Priority One International began creating videos designed as small group Bible study resources. With that kind of history, it’s no wonder that Bluefish TV is a respected name in the world of church media. Bluefish’s president, Brian Mosley, was kind enough to tell us about his organization’s approach to creating videos that help us teach.
COLLIDE: Bluefish TV has created an impressive array of resources—what videos or resources stand out in your mind?
Brian Mosley: Christians in the American culture are facing a huge battle against consumerism and self-centeredness. We call those who are fighting this battle “traders” because they’ve traded in the pursuit of the American Dream and made a choice to pursue Christ. Bluefish focuses a lot of our creative energy on small groups because we believe that when a group gets together to study God’s word, their character is formed and tested and they learn how to live out their faith in the real world. With that in mind, there are two recent resources that I am especially proud of because they inspire people to be traders.
One is a project with Todd Phillips called No Plan B. We traveled to war-torn Rwanda with Todd to capture his teaching on the role God has for us in bringing the hope of Jesus to the world. Another project is called Marriage: Built to Last and features teaching from Chip Ingram. This study covers foundational marriage issues such as conflict, communication and sex, but what I love is that it ends with a strong plea for couples to use their marriage to impact the world for Christ. Both of these studies approach the idea of activating your faith from
different perspectives.
COLLIDE: What people, places, or things inspire you to be creative?
Mosley: I am always inspired by real-life stories. I love learning about people’s journeys through reading books, watching documentaries, and face to face conversations. I think you see God’s creativity in people’s stories, and it inspires me to be creative in telling those stories.
COLLIDE: What is the most challenging aspect of creating media for churches and people you’ll never get to meet in person?
Mosley: I ask our team all the time if anyone has called into Apple recently to tell them how much they love their iPhone. Obviously the answer is “no.” It’s very rare to get unsolicited positive feedback. That’s the hardest thing about creating media for those you’ll never meet. You hope and pray that the media is making a difference, but you can’t hold your breath that you are going to get to hear about all those “feel-good” stories.
COLLIDE: Can you share any insights you’ve gained from failures, mistakes, or projects that didn’t live up to their potential?
Mosley: Thankfully our team is always in production mode. So if we’ve created something that didn’t hit the target, we are usually on to the next thing and running hard to get the next thing completed. So I guess the insight is to just keep creating.
COLLIDE: Describe the creative process at Bluefish TV.
Mosley: Like I mentioned earlier, we are on a mission to help people become traders. So our hope is that everything we create can lead people towards that end. Once you have that mission in mind, our team brainstorms through the “felt need” topics and issues that might inspire someone to plug in the resource. Then we try and take the viewer on a journey from their felt need (which can sometimes be more self-serving) towards living out their faith (which could be more selfless). Everyone on our team has a big say in the resources we are creating. Every small group study is usually comprised of several real-life stories and short video illustrations.
So the team wears two hats, first, as a journalist looking for the best stories that fit the topic. Then that producer gets to find, shoot and produce that story. The other hat is of a filmmaker. Everyone can pitch ideas for the short illustrations and then script, direct and edit their idea. The end result is a resource with a specific message woven throughout even though piecing together the creative work of many people created it.
COLLIDE: Are there steps you take in terms of leadership or environment that you think help your people do great creative work?
Mosley: I think the best thing I can do for creative people is free them up to be creative. Most creative people don’t like managing tasks and deadlines. So we put a high emphasis on writing down certain processes that pertain to tasks and deadlines. Once it’s in writing, the creative types are free to spend their energy on creating and not trying to remember how to do something or when it’s due.
COLLIDE: Is there a secret to creating media that “works”?
Mosley: No magic formula, but if you can be emotionally compelling and visually stunning, that’s a pretty good combo. Once those two things are in place, the teaching message you want to get across has a much smoother road to travel.
COLLIDE: What do you think the rest of 2010 holds for Bluefish TV?
Mosley: We’re in the midst of some pretty big ideas related to how we can communicate specifically to pastors, church staff, and volunteer leaders. I am excited about the potential for this. Also, we are becoming more intentional on the types of small group projects we produce. Our goal isn’t just to create a good Bible study that makes people talk and think—we want to lead them to action. We want to change the outcomes of small groups from a focus on education and care to actively launching people into the community. If you took Spanish for 10 years but never spoke it outside the classroom, people would think you’re crazy. Could people in small groups be “speaking the language” with each other but not really taking it out to the world?
To find out more about Bluefish TV and its library of resources, visit www.bluefishtv.com.